His Sons
by BlackBandit111
Summary: Emmett 'Doc' Brown wanted to name his sons after Marty, truly. He just couldn't understand why he wasn't able to. When he returns from the Old West, an encounter between he and his younger friend manages to clear certain things up. NO SLASH. ONESHOT. For Angie.


_Hello, Backies! I just want to say disclaimer: BTTF isn't mine, never will be mine- I wish it was mine, but it's not, so please don't sue me :) _

_This is a oneshot and I hope you enjoy the read!_

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><p>Emmett 'Doc' Brown wished sometimes that he had never invented his infernal time machine; thought sometimes that it had brought far more pain and suffering than it had any right to. Things simply weren't meant to go back in time and defy the natural order of the universe; it was dangerous, selfish, and even if for scientific reasons, altogether unnecessary and probably illegal in the future.<strong><br>**

So yes, Doc Brown sometimes wished he'd never invented the DeLorean time machine, sometimes became so enraptured in these thoughts he forgot the world around him. But then Jules or Verne or Clara would come and ask him for a song, a story, a dance, and that made messing with the space time continuum worthwhile. And if it came in handy sometimes too- enough to keep a time machine around- then there was no one to stop him. (Which, upon reflection, may have been part of the problem.)

He had his family settled down once again in Hill Valley, but this time in 1985, something Doc had been hesitant about but Clara had insisted upon. By this point she had known all about the future and its qualities, demanding answers to her nonstop inquiries after Marty took off in the DeLorean and didn't crash at the bottom of the ravine. Doc was all too happy to show her how the hoverboard worked and tell her about all the things from his time, and she was fascinated immediately, asking him to one day show her because if he had built one once he could certainly build one again, couldn't he?

Marty had been overjoyed to learn that Emmett, Clara, and their two boys were in town to stay, and instantly Jules and Verne took a shining to Marty, who doted and watched over them like they were his own siblings. He had Jennifer had yet to finish high school, but Marty had sent in his demo CD and things seemed to be going in the right direction, if Marty's sunny smiles were anything to go by.

It had been ten years- _ten whole years_- since Emmett had seen Marty, and it was ridiculous how unchanged the teenager looked compared to him- but then again, it was only ten years for Doc, perhaps all of ten minutes for his young friend.

He had wanted- oh, he had wanted- to name one of his kids Marty. Clara wanted to name them East and Wood, or Clint and Wood, but Doc had refused. He didn't want to remember his friend by that name- but she hadn't understood why he'd been so adamant about Marty, and the name wasn't one she was fond of for a child, so he had let it drop and instead they'd settled on Jules and Verne, after what they both loved.

He had never stopped thinking about it, though, about how his kids could have been named after his best and only friend, the one young man who would do anything for him- even travel back to 1885 to prevent his death. It touched him in ways he couldn't explain, and couldn't portray, and couldn't hope to understand.

He and Marty were working in his workshop- a proper workshop now, aside a proper house, because Emmett and Clara were working and had made a good amount of money in 1885 that they'd converted- when Marty had cleared his throat and brushed down the hair at the back of his neck.

Putting down his tools and turning his full attention to his friend, it was surprising how quickly he could notice these little ticks, these little habits that Marty had. He supposed that it took having his own kids to fully get into that state of mind.

Shaking his head and turning to Marty, he said, "yes, Marty, is there something the matter?" And Marty's anxiety showed as he fisted in some hair and tugged, biting at his lower lip.

"Well- Doc, I mean- I just-" he sighed and plopped himself into a seat, and Doc slowly sat down across him, "I just- what if- what if I don't have a future, like in 2015? And what if- what if something else goes wrong, Doc? I mean, loads of stuff can happen so I still break my hand and don't become successful, and then I raise kids that go to jail and I just- I mean-"

"Oh Marty," Dr. Brown said, an understanding sparkle in his eyes, "that's the whole point of the future- to be unpredictable! Always changing! Your future hasn't been written yet, Marty- can only be written by you and your actions, not controlled by some outside force! Yes, you could still break your hand, but I'm sure you'd find some way to be successful! You can be anything you want in the world, Marty, you don't have to be what you think you're destined to be!"

Marty's shoulders slumped even as his crystal blue eyes widened in desperation. "But Doc, I mean-" he ran a hand through his hair, "what if Jennifer- what if I'm no good for her? What if we really screwed stuff up I mean-"

He knew a ramble when he saw one. "What's this actually about, Marty?" He asked, and Marty paused a moment, frozen, before his face crumpled and he leaned forward to be caught in Doc's embrace.

"I- they're _different_, Doc!" He wailed, his voice pitching, "I don't know what it is but they're not _them_, they're not the same! My life is better but they- they're just- they- they- they-and I- I-" he sucked in a breath and pulled his face from where he'd hidden it in Doc's shoulder, upset blue orbs meeting soft brown, and Marty's lips trembled as tears leaked from the corners of his eyes and he sounded very, very small when he sobbed, _"I wanna go home!"_

Emmett's blood froze in his veins at the guileless, innocent fright in Marty's young voice, and he tightened his arms around the teenager. "Alright, Marty," he soothed, "it's alright. It'll be alright. Sh, now. Hush."

It took a couple minutes for Marty to calm down, but when he did he pulled from Doc's embrace, wiping his eyes and looking terribly, inexplicably embarrassed. "I, uh," he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck as he lowered his eyes, "I...just…"

Emmett shook his head and sighed, a small smile curving the corners of his lips. Some things never would change. "It's alright, Marty- I actually want to ask your opinion on this model; you see, I can't quite get the Mr. Fusion to connect fully to the tank, so it's not giving it enough power- I know the DeLorean will never fly again and the train is wonderful, but I think we really need a family van for when do collective time travelling- God forbid, but I think Jules left his bear in 1891, and obviously he'll be able to tell the difference; speaking of which…"

And Marty, grateful for the out, nodded along to the scientist's rambling, smiling at the mention of Jules, grinning when his friend fell back into old habits of vocabulary Marty had no chance of understanding, and Doc saw some of the shadow disappear from Marty's eyes as he threw back his head and laughed.

"Hey Marty," he said casually a couple hours later, while the two were still working side by side, "I'm sure they still love you for you. I certainly do." Because he'd realized something quite important in the time they'd been together today, and it had set him at peace, and allowed him to see what was really plaguing his young friend.

And when Marty paused and swallowed before going back to work, Doc knew he'd hit the nail on the head.

The response was what he'd expected, but he was still pleasantly surprised to hear it.

"You're the doc, Doc."

He couldn't have named one of his children Marty- it was impossible. How does a parent name one son after another?

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><p><em>That was my first back to the future fanfic- I wanted to both brush upon the way Doc probably changed when he became a parent and Marty's identity crisis with his new family. How'd I do? Characterization? Any complaints, praises, ideas, prompts? Thanks for reading, please leave me a comment on your thoughts, and I hope you liked!<em>


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